New job with a fly fishing company.

Back from Bali, I picked up a job with Orvis as they just opened a store in Boulder. It is only temporary as it looks like we are moving to Seattle at the end of the month. I will probably try and transfer to the store in Bellevue as they off health insurance, 401(k), and of course a killer discount.
It has been fun as you never know who is going to walk through the door. Some people just want to see the new store. Some people are buying rods, reels, line, the whole kit. They have a great system of ordering from the catalog with a "bat phone" beside a computer. I call it the "bat phone" because you pick it up and customer service is at the other end, no dialing, just wait and they answer.
Today's mission is to learn the arbor knot. And hope that they upgrade their computer system from the DOS based 1989 system we are currently using!

Fly fishing at Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia

Today we headed up to Tanah Lot. The temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 15th century priest Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.

The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples were established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. However, the temple had significant Hindu influence.

Pura Batu Balong

Pura Batu Balong

Tanah Lot

I made my own offerings to the sea gods (and fish) in the form of clouser minnows. I didn't get any takers, but fishing with Hindu temples looking on either side of me felt pretty cool.

Fly fishing in Bali.

I rented a boat for a couple hours and it was quite the experience. I had a blast.

I fished and we surfed near the runway of Denpasar International Airport. The runway juts out into the ocean and it is neat to see the planes taking off and landing so close to all the action in the water.

Here is my "captain". He looks bored because he can't understand why I wouldn't want to jig, bottom fish, or troll today. 

 I made him stay close to shore where I could see the reef. When he realized what I was doing, he took a nap. He probably thought that I was crazy. I doubt he has ever seen fly fishing in his life. He was happy to make a few bucks nap for the afternoon!

Nope, I didn't catch anything, see any fish, or get any hits.

Birthday. 30 is the new 50.

I had a birthday party. I don't remember it because I had food poisoning. I was going between my bed and the bathroom mumbling things to guests as they ate all of the awesome food. So this whole week I have felt like I am 50 years old. However, things are on the mend now. I leave for Bali in 2 weeks. So now I have rigged my 9 weight with new line and backing. I know the fish care how cool the colors are, so hopefully this will impress them.

Day 4 in Kona.

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

We touched the southernmost part of the entire Unites States. Not being the most creative with place names, it is called South Point. The wind is constant and the deterioration of windturbines seems to be the same. Three rows of dead windmills, with one row of new ones cranking out constant power.

Renewables.

Kurt is an awesome photographer/freediver from O'ahu that took some pictures of me fly fishing. When he finishes editing I hope to show them off.

Day 3 in Kona.

We hit up Waipi'o Valley which presented me with a couple of interesting fishing options. One was casting from shore with overhead surf. A small river dumps out into the ocean, but the fish didn't seem to want to battle the waves to eat my flies.

Waipi'o shorebreak.

The other option in Waipi'o was to fish in the river. There were a few baitfish scattering from my footsteps, but a boat would have been very helpful here. Again, no fish wanted to eat what I offered.

Waipi'o River.

The drive into the valley can be a bit sketchy.

On the way home we stopped by Kawaihae Harbor. We watched whales as we drove. I found this pencil urchin tangled in fishing line.

There was a lot of driving this day, but it was awesome. The weather was cold(ish), windy and rainy in Kona so this was a great mini vacation from our vacation!

Day 2 of Kona.

Between fishing spots.

Another great day in paradise. I think that I am getting better at my distance casts. I had better be with my 1,000 of casts today. My hands are blistered and I am sunburned. It was a great day of fishing. The only thing that I caught was a Clearfin Lizardfish. It wasn't an epic battle, but it was cool to see an aggressive saltwater fish hit a fly about half its size.

Honokohau without hanapa'a.

This was the last spot of the day. We started at Mahai'ula where the wind was howling, but as we arrived to the beach, there was a guy fly fishing! He was hucking deceivers with a 10wt. I was amazed. I had to go back to the car to get my rod as I wasn't thinking of fishing in this wind! We walked up and down the beach looking at what looked like good spots, but didn't hook up with anything. 

After a quick lunch we headed to Honokohau harbor. Fishing the south side was pretty, but useless. so we switched to the north side of the harbor where we met... another fly fisherman! Two other fly anglers in one day! All this in a spot that isn't supposed to have any fly fishing. Either fly fishing is becoming way too popular or people think that its easy to catch fish here.

The north side of the harbor looked better, but again produced nothing. Looks like the wind will die down tomorrow. If this sunburn goes away soon, I will be back out there tomorrow. either way, we will be in paradise!

First day in Kona.

After a crazy long day of traveling (which could be and will be worse on the way back) we arrived last night. Tossing and turning, missing my dogs, I finally got up this morning excited to be home. A lazy morning ensued with a new smoothie recipe courtesy of pops. Then we hit up a super secret area to get proper footwear for the week. The first fishing spot is the old airport. As usual, it was filled with hooligans and people that I try not to associate with. The two kinds of people that were ok there was the van full of people that had been dragged to their mandatory 12 step program and the tourists that had no idea that their valuable were being watched like an eagle watching a rodent thinking about leaving it's hole.

I tied on a clouser, watched my step for the constant threat of wana, and carefully picked my way out into the surf. I tried to cast downwind as much as possible. I only clipped myself with a fly once and luckily the hook didn't find it's way into the wrong animal.

At least the weather is nice!

I saw lots of fish getting out of my way, but that was the closest I came to catching anything. After a much missed plate lunch, we grabbed some stand up paddleboards and wore ourselves out in Kailua Bay. I had considered bringing a rod, but with a little surf and some wind, I was happy just to stay dry. A rod would have been a waste.

SUP!

Tomorrow is another chance for some fishing!

Heading to Kona.

This is a work in progress for Blood Knot Magazine.

I hit up my local creek this week and caught a few dumb trout on #20 BWO. Believe me, it was satisfying as I have been seeking out larget trout all winter only to leave cold, hungry, dissapointed, angry, and defintely fishless. The latest excursion had me driving 5 hours only to scowl in the wind for 3 hours of “fishing”. It was about that time that I made up my mind to get into some saltwater. Now, I have no idea what to do when I have something larger than a 5 weight in my hand (ask my girlfriend) but the idea of wearing shorts worrying about applying enough sunscreen was appealing to me. The girlfriend has no problem going on these trips either.

So we booked tickets. Cheap tickets that make you travel for 24 hours for a 5 hour flight. That is when I started panicking. I spent an evening on the Google trying to find fly fishing in Kona Hawai’i. Nope. There isn’t any. There is a budding bonefish guiding industry on O’ahu. That is on a different island. The island of Hawai’i, also called the Big Island, not to be confused with the state, Hawai’i is much younger than O’ahu (where Waikiki and Honolulu are) and hasn’t developed flat areas off shore. In fact the southern most point of the U.S. and the Big Island (appropriatley named South Point) have water so deep that it is possible to catch large game fish like Wahoo (Ono) Tuna (Ahi) and even Marlin (A’u) from shore.

Time for me to scrunch my face at the Google again. What gear do I bring for an unknown fishery? I settled on a 9 weight rod for a few reasons. I don’t want to buy a 12 or 15 weight and go after marlin from shore. What would I do if I caught one?! Land it? I also don’t own a rod that size and really don’t think that I need to buy one living in Colorado.

I also don’t own any saltwater flies. I remembered that Jay Zimmerman had some advice on the life cycle of tubers and he might have some tips on how to catch fish somewhere unexplored. He, nor anyone else in the shop, had heard of fly fishing in Kona. I think they asked if I was bringing my passport.

Saltwater in CO.

Where do I start when I have no idea where to start? The beginning I guess.

There was a huge selection of flies, but I couldn’t tell the guys at the shop about the terrain, the fish, or the weather (other than it’s always perfect) so I bought a few clousers and deceivers. I had the genius idea that I could make some of these myself and I would enjoy it.

He has no idea...

These size 4 hooks are easy to work with compared to the #22 parachute adams I am used to making.

It looks like I will be walking the shore hucking these monster flies at random rock outcroppings and looking for the shallowest water that I can find. I have a stand up paddle board that I can use, but they are hard to balance on in a lake with no wind. I am hoping to borrow a kayak or one of those bicycles with the huge plastic wheels so I can explore more territory without paying for a boat.

Marlins eat chickens?

After the first round of clousers and deceivers, I headed to a craft store to pick up some colorful feathers, craft fur, and storgae containers. I hope these Kona fish will eat any sort of neon early 90’s looking club dancer that isn’t too far away from shore!

Feels like Spring!

My life is great. Yesterday we hit up Brainard Lake to test out our new snowshoes. We loved it! We will definitely take them whenever we go somewhere with snow. Then today I was able to fish Boulder Creek. Most of the fish I caught were rising. Small BWOs were great! I even got this 10 incher on a Royal Wullfish pattern I tied last year.

Out of here!

Tickets are booked to Kona for the first week in March. The new fly rod will be making its debut. Then it is off to Bali in April. Hopefully the weather will be better when these trips are over. I am ready for spring.

Getting ready for salt.

Last week, I hurt myself playing soccer by colliding with another guy. I limped around for a couple of days until I decided to go to the doctor. I was told that I just bruised the bone and there was some swelling as fluid was in the marrow. I took a week off and felt better. Good enough to not listen to the doctor and get back into some soccer on Sunday. Of course I hurt it again and feel like a complete idiot. So with Mojdeh in Texas, I bought ice cream and gummy bears and sat on the couch for a couple of days feeling sorry for myself. I also bought an Orvis Hydros rod and reel. Now I am ready for Bali. The rod has arrived and the reel is expected around the middle of next month. Then I can go stand in the park and practice my double haul until my arms fall off.
I also applied for a job at the new Orvis store that is opening across the street form my house.

Mexico salt water fly fishing.

Freshwater dilemma.

I have booked a ticket to Bali for a two week trip with my Dad. We will be there for the last two weeks in April. One week will be in Ubud, in the mountains, and another in Seminyak near the beach. Of course I will be bring fly rods. But I can't find any research on what to bring. I had a great chat with Trapper from Fly Fish America who told me just to enjoy and not to over think things! Sounds like great advice. That being said, I can't help but scour the Google Maps looking at the water. In the mountains there is lots of water. But I can't tell what kind of rivers these are. Are they large? Small? Dammed? Are they only use to irrigate rice paddies? Here is the same pictures using the map view (showing the rivers) and again using the satellite view (showing the trees along the rivers.)

Lots of trees covering the water.

What do these rivers hold?

Lots of water!

So I will bring a 5 weight rod for the fresh water and hope that there are some fish (trout?) lurking around. I will also bring a 9 weight rod for the saltwater, but that is a story for another day. What flies shall i tie for the next four months?!

Post Thanksgiving celebration.

We went to Breckenridge for a few days. We had a great time.

Worth many words.

This week can be summed up in a few random pictures.

Did some fishing.

Walked a bit. (Hiking.)

Tried to convince Ben to get a dog.

Had friends over, drank Absinthe.

Went to trivia night where Ben tried to turn it into a gay bar. (Nearly successful.)

Nymphing begins.

Despite the forecast for some cold weather, we went fishing today. We hit the Big Thompson River a few miles below the dam and caught a few fish.

Pretty little rainbow trout.

I got this guy with a homemade green dubbing, copper wire, white winged nymph. Size 20. I never quite know what I am tying, I just like to make it up as I go along. I will be adding wings to a lot more nymphs. I got a couple more on a size 22-24 super pretty flashback shiny something. The tiny fly in the corner of a pretty fish's mouth made me want to take a picture, but I couldn't do it with my phone.

Then we went to just below the dam where Mall road crosses the river. That is always a hard spot to fish as there is a lot of pressure. With the temperatures dropping the pocket water is not providing any fish and the seams are where they are staying. I tied on a size 16 purple prince nymph and dropped it in the slow water a bit too far (I thought) from the fast water. As my dry sank, I set the hook and wondered if I would need the net. It turned out to be my best fish of the day and I nearly needed help netting him. He put up a good fight and I was happy to let him go.

Killer Brown.

Today's adventure.

We No Speak Americano.

So I found another blogger that I will be living vicariously through. Morgan is the editor of Bitch Creek in Blood Knot Magazine and she has a passion for fishing that is inspirational. Check out her blog, The Sandhill.
Since being in Mexico, I can't stop listening to this:

New Blood Knot Magazine issue!

As always I am proud to be a part of the Blood Knot team. We just released our 3rd issue. Check it our here. My gear review is inside. Page 36 and 37 for anyone shopping for a chest pack!

PV part 2.

Rooster! 

Very cool to see in person. 

My National Geographic moment. 

The boys. 

The malecon.

Lots of casting practice.

So we didn't have any luck from the boat, but I did catch my first Roosterfish from shore. After watching a turtle lay eggs on the beach nearby. How awesome is that?

We also saw the Pan American Championship triathlon race. Collins did well and I was stoked to see him race!